A trip to Mundania to rescue at king
One of the things that I noticed about the Xanth Series is that while they were written in a particular order, and while it is probably helpful to read them in order, it is probably not necessary to do so. Personally, even though the books do not directly follow on from each other, as do most trilogies or series, it is hinted that the books are following a vague time line. Obviously Centaur Aisle follows on after Castle Roogna, but not directly.
King Trent decides to go on a journey and puts Dor in charge of the kingdom. However Trent does not return when he is supposed to and Dor brings some friends together (a Golem and an Ogre, I think, it has been a long time since I read this book, so I am grateful to Wikipedia for having summaries of pretty much every one). Trent has gone to Mundania to try to establish trade routes, but he is captured. The catch with Mundania is that magic does not work there, so Dor and his friends travel to an island and meet up with a cantaur (Centaurs hate magic) who has been exiled because of a gift. His gift is the ability to create a field of magic where there is none. So armed with this 'weapon' they travel to Mundania to rescue King Trent.
It should be noted that Dor's gift is the ability to communicate with inanimate objects, which is a very useful gift for a king to have. The thing with Xanth is that everybody has a gift, but it is not like atypical fantasy novels where magic is learnt through hard study and is possessed by a few. Magic in Xanth is a birthright, however all one gets is that one gift, so it comes down to how this gift is used.
Some have suggested that these books are about hope, struggle against impossible odds, and never giving up. Sure, it is a common thread through a lot of books, but I would hardly say that it is worthy of writing an essay on. Even then, by year 12 my English Teacher would hardly have been impressed with me writing an essay on a Xanth Novel, when in his mind there are plenty of better novels out there on which one can write an essay.
